The legend of the invisible city of Kitezh and the maiden Fevronia (fragment). V

Back in the winter of 1898-1899, while working with V. Belsky on the libretto of the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, he became interested in two Russian medieval legends. Contact with the world of legends in opera was truly "native element" for the composer, it was unusual that this time it was not about pagan antiquity, but about the legends of the Christian era. One of them dates back to the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion and tells about the city of Kitezh, which did not surrender to the enemies and was miraculously saved by sinking to the bottom of Lake Svetloyar. The invisible city of Kitezh, which continues to exist at the bottom of the lake (as it were modern man- "in another dimension") is presented in the legends as a wonderful place inhabited by the righteous. Another source was The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom, created in the 16th century in connection with the canonization of these saints - a captivating love story that can overcome all obstacles: Prince Peter of Murom, despite the resistance of the boyars, marries a simple girl Fevronia, the sister of a poison dart frog - beekeeper.

N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov decided to combine these two plots in his opera: Fevronia becomes the wife of Vsevolod Yuryevich, prince of Kitezh, shortly before the fatal invasion. Thus, much more difficult trials fall on the lot of the opera heroine than on the lot of Fevronia in The Tale: the clash with class prejudices recedes into the background before the grand catastrophe that has befallen Russia ... On all the music that sounds in the opera "The Tale of invisible city Kitezh” - even on the cries of the bear (“Show me, Mikhailushko! Show me, foolish!”) There is a seal of tragedy.

In the opera The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia, the penultimate one for the composer, combining history and legend in its plot, there are epic features, and lyrics, and a heroic beginning, and a fantastic one - the work seems to sum up the operatic work of N. A Rimsky-Korsakov, and the entire Russian operatic tradition founded by M. I. Glinka. The musical language of the work can be most clearly characterized by the composer's saying: "In the opera, in my old age, singing attracts me more, but the truth is very little", - the recitative principle corresponds to the "truth in the opera", the author fully paid tribute to it in "Mozart and Salieri", Here, cantilena melodies, which have a Russian nature, dominate. Their origins are diverse - lyrical and epic, round dance and dance songs, but the main role - in accordance with the plot - belongs to the intonations of spiritual verse and ancient Russian znamenny chant. If “Sadko” is an epic opera, then “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh” could be called a “spiritual verse opera” (E. M. Petrovsky even suggested the definition of “liturgical opera” - this can be seen as a parallel with, which from "Rings of the Nibelung" with its Germanic pagan gods and Valkyries came to "Parsifal" - a Christian mystery opera about the Holy Grail).

The amazing harmony of this legendary opera is also manifested in the fact that there is no opposition of two female characters so beloved by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. The only heroine of the opera is Fevronia, a real person of flesh and blood, but a truly unearthly light emanates from this image - it is through her prayer that the city of Kitezh "is created invisible." The image of Fevronia - an ideal creature who grew up in the forest thicket - merges with the image of nature: the wide melody of the orchestral introduction, called "Praise to the Desert", reappears in the first picture in the vocal part of Fevronia. At the other "pole" of the work is an extremely dramatic image of the traitor Grishka Kuterma crushed by poverty. In contrast to Fevronia with her cantilena, this character is characterized by angular melodies with sharp jumps.

As in many operas by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, an important role in The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia belongs to symphonic episodes. The orchestral introduction "Praise to the Desert" is associated with the image of Fevronia. The intermission, connecting the two scenes of the third act - "The Battle of Kerzhents" - embodies one of the most dramatic moments of the opera: the clash of the Russian army and the Tatar one. Interestingly, the theme of the Tatar army is the Russian folk song "About the Tatar full", endowed with oriental features. The central moment of the fourth act is the radiant symphonic picture "Walking into the Invisible City".

The idea of the opera The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia had been maturing for more than one year. In 1901, in a letter to V. Belsky, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov spoke only about “insignificant passages”, in 1902 he complained in a comic quatrain that “you can shoot yourself because of the lack of a libretto”, and only from 1903 he was engaged in opera closely. By October 1904, the work was completed. When staging, it was originally supposed to give the heroine a different name - Alyonushka: after all, Fevronia of Murom, who served as a prototype for her, was a saint, and it was forbidden to bring saints to the opera stage, but an exception was made for N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, the heroine remained Fevronia. The premiere was a great success on February 7, 1907 at the Mariinsky Theatre.

Music Seasons

Opera in four acts (six scenes)

Libretto by V. I. Belsky

Characters:

Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich Knyazhich Vsevolod Yurievich Fevronia Grishka Kuterma Fedor Poyarok		mezzo-soprano
Top two people:
Medvedchik beggar-singer
Burundai	Tatar heroes
Alkonost	birds of paradise	contralto

Princely archers, trainees, domrachi, the best people, the poor brethren, the people, the Tatars.

Summer from the creation of the world 6751.

HISTORY OF CREATION

As an opera plot, the ancient Russian legend of the city of Kitezh attracted the attention of Rimsky-Korsakov in 1898. At the same time, the idea arose to connect her with the image of Fevronia, the heroine of the Murom story about Peter and Fevronia, which is widespread among the people. This image took a central place in the libretto of V. I. Belsky (1866-1946). The composer began composing music at the beginning of 1903. By the end of September next year the score of the opera was completed. The first performance took place on February 7 (20), 1907 at the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

"The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" is one of the most significant works of Russian opera classics. It is characterized by a combination of epic and lyrics, heroic and fantastic motifs of folk poetry. The plot is based on an ancient Russian legend of the 13th century, the era of Tatar-Mongol rule. Real historical events acquired a fantastic coloring in it. According to the legend, the city of Kitezh was saved from devastation by the Tatars by "God's will": it became invisible and became a place of ideal, according to popular notions, earthly life.

In their work on the libretto, Belsky and Rimsky-Korsakov made extensive use of the most varied motifs of folk poetry. As a result, as the librettist rightly asserted, “there is not a single trifle in the whole work that would not be inspired in one way or another by the feature of any legend, verse, conspiracy or other fruit of Russian folk art.”

Before the viewer passes a gallery of bright national types, unprecedentedly new on the opera stage. Such is Fevronia - the ideal image of a Russian woman, faithful and loving, wise and benevolent, modest and selflessly devoted, ready for the feat of self-sacrifice. She is sharply contrasted with the image of Kuterma, a man morally broken, crushed by poverty, which is stunning in its drama and truth of life. In terms of its socially accusatory power, this image has no equal in world opera literature. tragic fates the main characters are shown in inseparable connection with the fate of the people experiencing the difficult time of the Tatar invasion, against the backdrop of pictures of Russian nature, folk life, patriotic struggle against a ruthless enemy. In accordance with the content of folk legends, along with real ones, magical pictures of paradise nature and the miraculously transformed city of Kitezh appear in the opera.

PLOT

In the dense thicket of the Trans-Volga forests stands the hut of Fevronia. Her days are full of peace, quiet joyful thoughts. Animals run to her voice, birds flock. Once an unfamiliar young man appeared in clothes (of the prince's huntsman. The young man was struck by the girl's enthusiastic speeches about the beauty of nature, about the happiness of living under the majestic vaults of the forests, rejoicing in the radiance of the sun, the scent of flowers, the brilliance of the blue sky. They fell in love with each other and decided to exchange rings. Only the young man managed to set off on his way back, when the archers-hunters led by Fyodor Poyarok appeared, looking for their comrade.Fevronia learned from them that the unfamiliar young man with whom she became engaged was Prince Vsevolod, the son of the old prince Yuri, who rules in Veliky Kitezh.

The shopping area of Small Kitezh is crowded with people waiting impatiently for the arrival of the bride and groom. A guide with a bear makes the crowd laugh; gray-haired as a harrier Guslyar sings an epic. The Kitezh rich grumble, dissatisfied with the fact that a simple peasant woman will become a princess. Seeing the drunken Grishka Kuterma, they give him money so that he gets drunk and properly “honored” the bride. The people of Kitezh joyfully greet their mistress. But Grishka Kuterma approaches Fevronia with impudent speeches, mocking her simple origin and poverty. The people drive him away, and at the sign of his friend - Fedor Poyarka - the girls start a wedding song. Suddenly, the song stops. The sounds of military horns are heard, and crowds of people run out into the square in confusion, pursued by the Tatars. The Tatars are angry: a tsikto of the inhabitants does not agree to betray their prince, to show the way to Veliky Kitezh. With threats, they pounce on Kuterma, and the hawk moth can not stand it: fearing terrible torments, he agrees to lead the Tatar army.

At one of the churches of Great Kitezh, people gathered at midnight to listen to the messenger - Fyodor Poyarka, blinded by enemies. Those present are shocked by his mournful story about the people's disaster and about what, according to rumors, leads the Tatars to the Great Kitezh of Fevronius. At the call of the old Prince Yuri, the people offer prayers for salvation. Prince Vsevolod asks his father to bless him and his retinue for a feat of arms and sets out from Veliky Kitezh to meet the enemies. As soon as their song died away in the distance, the city was enveloped in a bright, golden fog, the bells themselves quietly hummed, foreshadowing deliverance.

On a dark, impenetrable night, Grishka led the Tatars, and with them the captive Fevronia, to Lake Svetloyara. But the Tatar warriors do not believe the traitor; they tied him tightly to a tree in order to wait for the morning, and set about dividing the booty they had stolen. The Tatars boast of their victory over the Kitezh squad, they talk about the death of Prince Vsevolod. A dispute broke out between the soldiers - who should own Fevronia from Polonyanka. In the heat of a quarrel, Burundai kills his opponent with an ax blow. The division is over, the drunken Tatars are falling asleep. Fevronia weeps bitterly for her dead fiancé. Grishka Kuterma calls to her; he, who betrayed his native land to the enemy, slandered Fevronia, is tormented by remorse. In desperation, he asks Fevronia to let him go free so that he can atone for the grave sin of betrayal. Fevronia felt sorry for the unfortunate hawker, and she freed him from the fetters. Grishka wants to run away but cannot: the ringing of bells fills his soul with overwhelming fear. He rushed to the lake to drown himself, and was dumbfounded at the sight of an unprecedented spectacle: the first rays of the rising sun glided over the water surface, illuminated the empty shore of Svetloyar, and below it in the lake - the reflection of the capital city of Great Kitezh. In insane surprise, with a wild cry, Kuterma disappeared into the thicket of the forest. They saw the reflection of the invisible city and the Tatars. A mysterious sight brought them panic fear. Forgetting everything, they fled in horror from a terrible place.

In the dense thicket of the Kerzhensky forests, Fevronia and Kuterma, who fled from the Tatars, make their way through the windbreak and tenacious bushes. They are tormented by hunger and fatigue. Unable to bear the pangs of conscience and terrible visions, Kuterma disappears into the dense thicket. The exhausted Fevronia falls on the grass, calling on the deliverer-death. Around her, unprecedented flowers bloom, candles light up on the branches of trees, the voices of birds of paradise prophesy peace and happiness to her, and from the depths of the clearing the ghost of Prince Vsevolod is approaching. Full of strength again, Fevronia joyfully rushes to meet him, and the young people slowly move away to Great Kitezh.

On the square of the miraculously transformed city, they are met by people in white clothes. Intricate towers are illuminated with a bright silvery glow, a lion and a unicorn with silver hair guard the princely mansions, birds of paradise sing, sitting on high spiers. Fevronia looks at the magical city with amazement. To the sounds of heavenly pipes, the people sing a wedding song, unsung in Little Kitizh. But Fevronia remembers the unfortunate, insane Grishka Kuterma, who is not destined to enter magical Kitezh, and decides to send him a message. 1 Finally, the letter is written, and the young people, accompanied by solemn singing and the ringing of bells, slowly and majestically march to the cathedral to the crown.

MUSIC

"The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" is a legendary opera. The slow development of the action, the abundance of broad expressive melodies of a song-Russian character give the opera an original national coloring, the color of distant hoary antiquity.

The orchestral introduction "Praise to the Desert" paints a picture of a forest with the rustle of leaves and birdsong; Fevronia's melodious melodies sound here.

The music of the first act is imbued with a light lyrical mood. Fevronia's song "Oh, you are a forest, my forest, a beautiful desert" is marked by spiritual purity, serene calmness. The large scene of Fevronia with the prince is gradually filled with a jubilant, enthusiastic feeling. A love duet, warm and sincere, completes it. The duet is interrupted by the calling signals of hunting horns and the courageous song of archers. The act ends with mighty proud fanfare, symbolizing the image of the Great Kitezh.

The second act is a monumental historical fresco painted with a wide brush. The mournful epic of Guslyar (a prophecy about the coming disaster) is designed in the style of an old epic tale. It is followed by a chorus, reminiscent of folk lamentations, laments. In the developed scene, a multifaceted characterization of Grishka Kuterma is given. The chimes of bells in the orchestra, joyful exclamations are combined in a solemn choir welcoming Fevronia. In the scene of the meeting between Fevronia and Kuterma, her smooth, lyrical, melodious melodies are sharply contrasted with the angular, convulsive speech of the hawk moth. The Tatar invasion marks a sharp turn in the action; right up to the end of the act, the music is dominated by the element of gloomy colors, menacing, harsh sounds that depict the Tatar invasion.

The third act consists of two paintings, which are connected by a symphonic intermission. The first picture is painted in dark, harsh colors, emphasizing the drama of the events. The gloomy, mournful story of Poyarka, interrupted by the excited exclamations of the choir, forms a wide stage, saturated with great internal tension. Prince Yuri's aria "O glory, vain wealth!" is permeated with a mood of heavy meditation and deep sadness. The heroic song of the squad, which Vsevolod sings, is overshadowed by a premonition of doom. The final episode of the picture is full of mysteriously flickering sounds, the muffled rumble of bells and a magical numbness.

The symphonic intermission "The Battle of Kerzhents" is an outstanding example of Russian program music. With amazing realism, visible clarity, the battle of the Tatars with the Russians is depicted here. Having reached the limit of drama, the slaughter breaks off; only echoes of the receding wild race are heard, which was opposed by the now broken beautiful melody of the song of the Kitezh squad. At the beginning of the second picture, the chorus of the Tatars “Not hungry crows” sounds tired, joyless. Fevronia's lamentations resemble a drawn-out folk song. Anguish, feverish excitement, passionate prayer, sorrow, joy, horror - these nervously alternating states convey the terrible mental anguish of Kuterma. The confused choral phrases of the Tatars and the formidable tocsin complete the third act.

The fourth act also consists of two scenes connected by a vocal-symphonic intermission. The first picture is divided into two large sections. In the center of the first - Kuterma. Music with great tragic power conveys the acute mental discord of a man losing his mind, wild visions of his hallucinating fantasy. The next section is devoted to showing the miraculous transformation of nature. The picture ends with a bright lyrical duet.

The vocal-symphonic interlude "Journey into the Invisible City" follows without interruption; against the backdrop of a radiant, majestic procession, joyful chimes, the intricate singing of birds of paradise sounds. The music of the second picture creates a panorama of a wonderful city, as if frozen in a fairy-tale charm. The vocal phrases of the characters, the choral episodes follow each other measuredly and sedately; their major sound illuminates the music with a soft and even glow. Only the wedding song and the gloomy images that arise in the scene of Fevronia's letter are reminiscent of past terrible events. The opera ends with an enlightened, long fading chord.

1 The scene of Fevronia's letter to Kuterma, according to the tradition of the first productions of the opera, is usually released.

Characters:

Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich		bass
Knyazhich Vsevolod Yurievich		tenor
Fevroniya		soprano
Grishka Kuterma		tenor
Fedor Poyarok		baritone
Otrok		mezzo-soprano
Top two people:	1st	tenor
	2nd	bass
Guslyar		bass
Medvedchik		tenor
beggar-singer		baritone
Bedyay	Tatar heroes	bass
Burundai		bass
Sirin	birds of paradise	soprano
Alkonost		contralto
Princely archers, trainees, domrachi, the best people, the poor brethren, the people, the Tatars.
Summer from the creation of the world 6751.

HISTORY OF CREATION

As an opera plot, the ancient Russian legend of the city of Kitezh attracted attention in 1898. At the same time, the idea arose to connect her with the image of Fevronia, the heroine of the Murom story about Peter and Fevronia, which is widespread among the people. This image took a central place in the libretto of V. I. Belsky (1866-1946). The composer began composing music at the beginning of 1903. By the end of September of the following year, the score of the opera was completed. The first performance took place on February 7 (20), 1907 at the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

In the work on the libretto, Belsky and widely used the most diverse motifs of folk poetic creativity. As a result, as the librettist rightly asserted, “in the whole work there is not a single trifle that would not be inspired in one way or another by the feature of any legend, verse, conspiracy or other fruit of the Russian folk art».

Before the viewer passes a gallery of bright national types, unprecedentedly new on the opera stage. Such is Fevronia - the ideal image of a Russian woman, faithful and loving, wise and benevolent, modest and selflessly devoted, ready for the feat of self-sacrifice. She is sharply contrasted with the image of Kuterma, a man morally broken, crushed by poverty, which is stunning in its drama and truth of life. In terms of its socially accusatory power, this image has no equal in world opera literature. The tragic fates of the main characters are shown in inseparable connection with the fate of the people experiencing the difficult time of the Tatar invasion, against the backdrop of pictures of Russian nature, folk life, patriotic struggle against a ruthless enemy. In accordance with the content of folk legends, along with real ones, magical pictures of paradise nature and the miraculously transformed city of Kitezh appear in the opera.

PLOT

On a dark, impenetrable night, Grishka led the Tatars, and with them the captive Fevronia, to Lake Svetloyara. But the Tatar warriors do not believe the traitor; they tied him tightly to a tree in order to wait for the morning, and set about dividing the booty they had stolen. The Tatars boast of their victory over the Kitezh squad, they talk about the death of Prince Vsevolod. A dispute broke out between the soldiers - who should own Fevronia from Polonyanka. In the heat of a quarrel, Burundai kills his opponent with an ax blow. The division is over, the drunken Tatars are falling asleep. Fevronia weeps bitterly for her dead fiancé. Grishka Kuterma calls to her; he, who betrayed his native land to the enemy, slandered Fevronia, is tormented by remorse. In desperation, he asks Fevronia to let him go free so that he can atone for the grave sin of betrayal. Fevronia felt sorry for the unfortunate hawker, and she freed him from the fetters. Grishka wants to run away but cannot: the ringing of bells fills his soul with overwhelming fear. He rushed to the lake to drown himself, and was dumbfounded at the sight of an unprecedented spectacle: the first rays of the rising sun glided over the water surface, illuminated the empty shore of Svetloyar, and below it in the lake - the reflection of the capital city of Great Kitezh. In insane surprise, with a wild cry, Kuterma disappeared into the thicket of the forest. They saw the reflection of the invisible city and the Tatars. The mysterious sight filled them with panic. Forgetting everything, they fled in horror from a terrible place.

On the square of the miraculously transformed city, they are met by people in white clothes. Intricate towers are illuminated with a bright silvery glow, a lion and a unicorn with silver hair guard the princely mansions, birds of paradise sing, sitting on high spiers. Fevronia looks at the magical city with amazement. To the sounds of heavenly pipes, the people sing a wedding song, unsung in Little Kitizh. But Fevronia remembers the unfortunate, insane Grishka Kuterma, who is not destined to enter magical Kitezh, and decides to send him a message. Finally, the letter is written, and the young people, accompanied by solemn singing and the ringing of bells, slowly and majestically march to the cathedral to the crown.

MUSIC

The orchestral introduction "Praise to the Desert" paints a picture of a forest with the rustle of leaves and birdsong; Fevronia's melodious melodies sound here.

1 The scene of Fevronia's letter to Kuterma, according to the tradition of the first productions of the opera, is usually released.

"The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia"- the fourteenth opera by the Russian composer Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov. The opera has four acts and six scenes. The basis of the plot was the legend of the late 18th century about the city of Kitezh. The libretto was compiled by the composer together with V. I. Belsky. On February 7 (20), the premiere of the opera took place on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

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The idea of creating an opera based on the story of the city of Kitezh came to the composer long before its implementation. In The Chronicle of My Musical Life, he mentions that in the winter of 1898/1899 and in 1900 he discussed with his librettist V. I. Belsky “the legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh” in connection with the legend of St. Fevronia of Murom". From that moment on, the idea of creating an opera based on this plot did not leave the composer, and he made sketches for it. For example, in a letter to V.I. Belsky dated May 31, 1901, he wrote:

However, due to the lack of a libretto, he could not get down to work on the creation of this opera, in connection with which he repeatedly hurried his librettist, as, for example, in a letter dated September 27, 1902:

Nevertheless, almost a year passed before active work on the creation of music began in the summer of 1903. The joint work of the composer and librettist took place orally, so there are practically no materials about it. However, it can be said with confidence that at all stages of work on the plot, the composer delved into all the details, in the text of the opera there was “not a single intention that would not be approved by the composer.” At the same time, close friends of Rimsky-Korsakov felt that before their eyes there is a creation of a work with a special depth of ethical issues, however, their high demands on the nascent creation caused the composer a feeling of annoyance. Since the beginning of active composing work on the opera, composing music has progressed quite rapidly. In July 1904, the sketch was completed, by October 1904 the orchestration was completed, at the same time an agreement was concluded with Belyaev's firm to publish the score of the opera. In the spring of 1906, work began on learning the opera at the Mariinsky Theatre. The premiere took place on February 7, 1907 (this day coincided with the day of elections to the II State Duma) and was a resounding success.

Text and plot sources

At the very first reference to the plot of the future opera, two different folk legends turned out to be inextricably linked in the composer's mind - about the invisible city of Kitezh and about St. Fevronia of Murom. The intuition of the authors caught in them something essential that united them. However, as V. I. Belsky notes in the preface to the publication of the score, “for an extensive and complex stage work, the features scattered in these sources are not enough. For this reason, numerous and far-reaching additions were necessary, which, however, the author considered only as an attempt to guess the whole, hidden in the depths of the national spirit, from separate fragments and hints. Further development of the plot was carried out with the involvement of a huge set of various materials. As a result, a work was born in which "there is not a single trifle that, one way or another, was not inspired by the trait of any legend, verse, conspiracy or other fruit of Russian folk art" . Among the text's sources were:

"The Chronicler of Kitezh", reported by Meledin and printed in Bessonov's remarks to the fourth edition of the collection of Kireevsky's songs, there are also various oral traditions about the invisible city of Kitezh;
The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom;
The Tale of Woe-Misfortune;
Melnikov-Pechersky P. I. "In the forests", a novel;
Ipatiev and Laurentian chronicles;
Korolenko V. G. "Svetloyar", essay;
Maykov A. N. "Wanderer", dramatic study.

The resulting libretto is distinguished by outstanding literary qualities. It was nominated by Academician A.F. Koni for the Pushkin Prize and was rejected only on formal grounds (publishing earlier than the deadlines set for receiving the Prize).

Actors and premiere lineups

The consignment	Premiere in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theater February 7, 1907 conductor Felix Blumenfeld	Premiere in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater February 15, 1908 conductor Vyacheslav Suk
Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich (bass)	I. F. Filippov	V. R. Petrov
Knyazhich Vsevolod Yurievich (tenor)	A. M. Labinsky	N. A. Rostovsky
Fevronia (soprano)	M. N. Kuznetsova-Benoit	N. V. Salina
Grishka Kuterma (tenor)	I. V. Ershov	A. P. Bonacic
Fedor Poyarok (baritone)	V. S. Sharonov	G. A. Baklanov
Otrok (mezzo-soprano)	M. E. Markovich	E. G. Azerskaya
The best people: first (tenor)	V. L. Karelin	Stefanovich
Best People: Second (bass)	N. S. Klimov	V. S. Tyutyunnik
Guslyar (bass)	V. I. Kastorsky	N. P. Chistyakov
Medvedchik (tenor)	G. P. Ugrinovich	Ilyushchenko
Beggar-sang (baritone)	N. F. Markevich	I. N. Komarovsky
Tatar Bogatyr Burundai (bass)	K. T. Serebryakov	S. E. Trezvinsky
Tatar bogatyr Bedyay (bass)	I. S. Grigorovich	Kh. V. Tolkachev
Bird of paradise Sirin (soprano)	N. I. Zabela	M. G. Tsybuschenko
Bird of paradise Alkonost (contralto)	E. I. Zbrueva	S. A. Sinitsyna
Princely archers, travellers, domrachi, the best people, the poor brethren and other people. Tatars.

Plot

Act I

The opera opens with the introduction "Praise to the Wilderness". In the "desert" (more correctly - "deserts") - that is, in an empty, deserted place, in a dense forest, young Fevronia lives with her brother, a tree climber, who extracts honey in the summer. Fevronia lives in peace and harmony with the forest, wild animals come to her so that she feeds and nurses them. Lost while hunting, Prince Vsevolod accidentally sees Fevronia. At first, he is frightened of her, like a forest ghost, but making sure that there is a living girl in front of him, he strikes up a conversation, asking about her life. He is surprised by her smart and poetic words, her attitude to nature as to the “Church of God”, her conviction that human life should be “in joy”. She heals his arm wounded in a fight with a bear. In a conversation, Vsevolod calls himself a princely huntsman. He is struck by the wisdom and beauty of Fevronia, he exchanges rings with her, promises to send matchmakers and leaves. In search of Vsevolod, his warriors come to Fevronia, from them she learns that Vsevolod is a prince, the son of Prince Yuri.

Act II

In Maly Kitezh (Kerzhents), people are waiting for the arrival of the prince's bride. A bear and a bear entertain the audience (“Show me, Mikhailushko, show me, foolish one”). The gusliar sings an unexpectedly sad spiritual verse about the tours and the turkey. Meanwhile, a drunkard falls out of the tavern - Grishka Kuterma. The local rich (“the best people”) incite him to laugh at Fevronia: they don’t like the fact that the prince marries a simple girl. The wedding train arrives with Fevronia. Grishka addresses her with envious mockery, advising her "not to put on airs" and calling her "the bride from the swamp", wearing a "fur coat of mouse tails". Fevronia, on the other hand, asks people not to offend Grishka, conducts a humble conversation with him and advises them to pray to God so as not to drink, and not to expose themselves to ridicule of people. In response, the drunkard again showers her with rudeness. The prince's servant, Fyodor Poyarok, tells the girls to sing a wedding song. The wedding ceremony begins. However, the song is interrupted by noise and screams. From afar, people come running in panic, they talk about the fact that enemies suddenly appeared, from whom there is no escape. Almost immediately after them, the Tatars enter the city and begin a massacre. They want to know the way to the Great Kitezh, but people are dying without saying anything to the enemies. The only one who agrees to reveal the secret is Grishka Kuterma. Only he and Fevronia remain alive, who is taken prisoner for her beauty.

Act III

Picture 1. Kitezh the Great. At midnight, all the people, from the old to the young, with weapons in their hands, gathered outside the fence of the Assumption Cathedral. Prince Yuri and prince Vsevolod are on the porch, with a squad around them. Everyone surrounded Fyodor Poyarka, who is standing with his head down, arm in arm with Otrok. It turns out that he was blinded by the Tatars. Everyone is shocked by his mournful story about the national disaster and that, according to rumors, Princess Fevronia herself is leading the Tatars to Great Kitezh. The people are depressed: “Oh, the heart is troubled, brethren! Wants to be a great trouble. The prince sends the Otrok to the bell tower, so that he can look from there, "if God does not give us a sign." The youth runs into the bell tower and from there reports: “The dust has risen to the sky in a pillar.” This is the Horde army rushing. The youth sees: “It is as if the city of Kitezh is on fire: the flame is blazing, sparks are rushing about,” - with these and other bloody details, he tells about his vision. At the call of the old Prince Yuri, the people offer prayers for the salvation of their Queen of Heaven. Prince Vsevolod comes forward. He asks his father to bless him and his retinue for a feat of arms and comes out to meet the enemies. Knyazhych loudly sings the song of the warriors "The squad has risen from midnight." Light, with a golden sheen, the fog quietly descends from the dark sky - at first it is transparent, then it gets thicker and thicker. Anticipating their end, people say goodbye to each other. The church bells hummed softly of their own accord, foreshadowing deliverance. Everyone is amazed and delighted that “God the Lord covers Kitezh with a cover” (so says Prince Yuri). Everything is shrouded in a golden mist. While the stage is being covered by a cloudy curtain (at this time the scenery for the second picture is being changed), the symphonic picture "The Battle at Kerzhents" sounds - an orchestral piece, often included in the programs of symphony concerts. The composer paints this unequal battle between the inhabitants of Kitezh and the hordes of Tatars with amazing force and brightness of images.

Picture 2. In the oak forest on the shore of Lake Svetly Yar, the darkness is impenetrable. The opposite shore, where Veliky Kitezh stands, is shrouded in thick fog. A commotion with the heroes Bedyay and Burundai, making his way through a thicket of bushes, comes to a clearing going to the lake. The rest of the Tatars gradually converge. Carts with stolen goods are brought in. The Tatars suspect that Kuterma deliberately led them into an impenetrable thicket. Burundai and Bedyay tie Kuterma to a tree. A cart drives in, on which Fevronia is sitting. Tatars are taken to share the booty. A dispute flares up between Burundai and Bedyay over who owns Fevronia. In the end, Burundai hits Bedyay on the head with an axe. Bedyay falls dead. Silence reigns for a moment, then the Tatars calmly continue dividing the booty. Gradually, the hop overcomes the Tatars, and they fall asleep, each forgetting about their share. Burundai leads Fevronia to him, lies down on the carpet himself, makes her sit down and tries to comfort, draws her to him and hugs her. Soon he falls asleep too. The whole camp sleeps. Fevronia departs from Burundai. She weeps bitterly for her dead fiancé (“Oh, my dear fiancé, hope!”). Fevronia is called by Grishka Kuterma (he is here, nearby, tied to a tree). He, who betrayed his native land to the enemy, is tormented by remorse. Fevronia recognizes him and comes closer. Grishka begs her to untie him. Fevronia is afraid that she will be executed for this. Grishka admonishes her and, in turn, asks her why she should save her life, because of the princely people (her current relatives) there will not be even a dozen alive. And if they are alive, then God forbid. Why "God forbid?" - Fevronia asks him. And he admits that he said to her that she brought the Tatar army to Kitezh. Terrified, Fevronia covers her face with her hands: “Grisha, aren’t you the Antichrist?” she asks. She frees him so that he can atone for the sin of betrayal. He wants to run, but he can't: he hears the ringing of bells; “languid fear brings to the heart ...” He wants to run, but staggers, falls prone and lies motionless for some time. Then he gets up and with desperate determination rushes to the lake to drown himself. And suddenly he stops at the shore as if rooted to the spot: the first rays of dawn illuminate the surface of the lake and the reflection of the capital city in the lake under the empty shore. A festive ringing is heard, gradually becoming louder and more solemn. Kuterma rushes back to Fevronia, in insane surprise, points to the lake: “Where there was a demon, there are now gods; where God was, there is nothing!” With a wild cry Kuterma disappears into the thicket, dragging Fevronia with her. The cry of Kuterma woke up the Tatars. They watch a vision in the lake. They are amazed: “A miracle, an incomprehensible miracle!” They are attacked by unaccountable fear. Forgetting everything, they flee in horror from a terrible place.

Action IV

Picture 1. Dark night . Deaf thicket in the Kerzhen forests. A spruce uprooted lies across the stage. In the depths of a clearing and in it a swamp overgrown with moss. Here, in a torn dress, Fevronia makes her way; followed by the insane Grishka Kuterma. Exhausted, she sits down on a tree trunk. Grishka makes insane speeches: he talks to her now insolently and akimbo, now plaintively, like a beggar. Fevronia meekly reasoned with him: “Do not scoff, change your mind; remember what sin you have committed.” Grishka is tormented by remorse. He either sobs, then sticks to Fevronia like a child, then kneels, looking around in fright, then jumps up hastily, dances frantically and whistles. For a moment he calms down. In the end, with a wild cry, he runs away into a dense thicket. Fevronia was left alone. She lays down on the grass. The trees are gradually covered with a bright emerald green of a bizarre look. Fevronia plunges into a blissful state: her fatigue and pain have passed. She sings a lullaby to herself: "Bye, bye, sleep, sleep, sleep, heart, rest." Wax candles light up everywhere on the branches of trees; huge unprecedented flowers grow on trees and from the ground: golden kryzhants, silver and scarlet roses, string, irises and others. The passage to the swamp remains open. Fevronia sings about her admiration for all this view. The voices of the birds of paradise prophesy peace and happiness to her. She rises, goes forward; the branches bow to her. It seems to her that spring has come again: "All the swamps have blossomed, all the trees have been painted." Among the birds, the voice of Alkonost stands out: “Be strong with hope, with undoubted faith: everything will be forgotten, time will end.” From the depths of the clearing, across the swamp dotted with flowers, as if on dry land, the ghost of Prince Vsevolod slowly walks, illuminated by a golden glow, barely touching the soil with his feet. Fevronia, again full of strength, rushes to him. The ghost addresses her with a greeting: “Have fun, my bride, have fun! The bridegroom has come for you." The ghost comforts Fevronia. The voice of another bird of paradise, Sirin, is heard: “Behold the groom has come, why are you delaying?”. "Lord Jesus, accept me, set me up in the villages of the righteous." And now the young, hand in hand, slowly leave through the swamp, barely touching the ground. The transition to the second picture is one more - this time orchestral-vocal (here the voices of birds of paradise, Sirin and Alkonost sound behind the stage) - sound picture of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. It begins immediately after the end of the first picture (as if pouring out of it) and directly passes into the second picture. The composer's remark elaborates (this became the name of this intermission): "Walking into the invisible city." Against the backdrop of a radiant majestic procession, joyful chimes, the intricate singing of birds of paradise sounds.

Picture 2. The author's remark characterizing the invisible city is as follows: "The cloud is dissipating. The city of Kitezh is miraculously transformed. Near west gate Assumption Cathedral and Prince's Court. High bell towers, bonfires on the walls, intricate towers and troughs made of white stone and kondo wood. The carving is decorated with pearls; painting in blue, ashen and blue-scarlet, with all the transitions that are on the clouds. The light is bright, bluish-white and even from all sides, as if not giving a shadow. To the left, opposite the gate, the prince's mansions; the porch is guarded by a lion and a silver-haired unicorn. Sirin and Alkonost - birds of paradise with unfeminine faces - sing while sitting on the spokes. A crowd in white worldly robes with paradisiacal krinas and lit candles in their hands; among the crowd, Poyarok is a sighted one and Otrok, who was his guide. This is where Fevronia turned out to be. The people greet her and the prince. Fevronia does not remember herself from amazement; she walks around the square, examining everything, and claps her hands in delight. The people surround the prince and Fevronia and sing a wedding song to the sounds of a harp and a heavenly flute, throwing flowers, rosans and blue killer whales under their feet. Fevronia does not understand to whom the wedding song is sung, whose wedding. Then the prince says to her: "Ours, my dear." Prince Yuri appears in chorus on the porch of the princes. Fevronia greets the prince as her father-in-law's daughter-in-law. A large ensemble sounds, in which all the main characters- Prince Yuri, Prince Vsevolod, Fevronia, the birds of paradise Sirin and Alkonost sing with them, Otrok and Poyarok join, and finally the whole choir ("Be with us here forever"). Prince Vsevolod invites Fevronia to church (“Ah, you, faithful bride, it’s time for us to go to the church of God”). At this moment, Fevronia remembers Grishka: “Grishenka remained in the forest there.” Fevronia wants to send him a letter, "Grisha's small consolation." Poyarok is ready to write it. Fevronia dictates; she describes Kitezh, which did not fall, but hid, tells him that they are not dead, but alive, and they live in a wondrous city. “Who will enter this city?” - Fevronia asks Prince Yuri. “Anyone who has a mind that is not split in two, more than life in a city, he will desire to be,” Yuri replies. (The scene of Fevronia's letter to Kuterma, according to the tradition of the first productions of the opera, is usually released. This runs counter to the author's categorical requirement that he stated about the production of the opera: “I cannot agree to skipping the scene of the letter to Kuterma in the last picture. There were also talks about this in St. Petersburg Fevronia's letter is the climax of her whole image. Fevronia, having reached bliss, remembers and takes care of her fierce enemy and the destroyer of the Great Kitezh. Let the listeners delve into this, and not treat the last picture of the opera as an apotheosis "(from Rimsky-Korsakov's letter to the conductor of the first performances of the opera in Moscow in 1908 by V.I.

The idea for the opera came to Rimsky-Korsakov while he was still working on the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan.
Rimsky-Korsakov looked at Kitezh as the result of his work, and for some time he thought of allowing the publication and staging of the opera only after his death.
This opera is a rare example of a triple alteration of musical sound (thrice sharp). The sign is used near the number 220 in the score.
In the days of Tsarist Russia, it was strictly forbidden to bring saints to the stage, and initially the heroine of the opera was to be called Alyonushka, but an exception was made for Rimsky-Korsakov's opera and the heroine retained the name Fevronia.
Characters such as the mysterious birds of paradise - Sirin and Alkonost - appear in the opera. They are also depicted in the famous painting by V. M. Vasnetsov “Sirin and Alkonost. A Song of Joy and Sorrow (1896), which probably inspired the authors of the opera to introduce these characters into the plot.

Productions

February 7, 1907 - Mariinsky Theater (conductor Felix Blumenfeld, director Vasily Shkafer, artists Konstantin Korovin and Vasnetsov; Yuri Vsevolodovich - Ivan Burkhardt, Vsevolod - Andrey Labinsky, Fevronia - Maria Kuznetsova-Benois, Grishka Kuterma - Ivan Ershov - Vasily Poryarok Sharonov, Otrok - Maria Markovich, Medvedchik - Grigory Ugrinovich, Bedyay - Ivan Grigorovich, Burundai - Konstantin Serebryakov, Sirin - Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel, Alkonost - Evgenia Zbrueva, Guslyar - Vladimir Kastorsky);
1908 - Bolshoi Theater (conductor Vyacheslav Suk, director Iosif Lapitsky, artists Korovin, Mikhail Klodt, Vasnetsov; Yuri Vsevolodovich - Vasily Petrov, Vsevolod - Nikolai Rostovsky, Fevronia - Nadezhda Salina, Grishka Kuterma - Anton Bonachich, Poyarok - Elizabeth Azerskaya, Burundai - Stepan Trezvinsky);
1916 - Bolshoi Theatre, resumed. (conductor Vyacheslav Suk, director Pyotr Olenin, artists Korovin, Klodt, Vnukov and Petrov).
November 15, 1918 - Petrograd Opera and Ballet Theater (conductor Coats, director Melnikov, artists Korovin, Ovchinnikov and Vnukov; Yuri Vsevolodovich - Filippov, Vsevolod - Bolshakov, Fevroniya - Nikolaeva, Grishka Kuterma - Ershov, Poyarok - Andreev, Medvedchik - Ugrinovich, Bedyay - Belyanin, Burundai - I. Grigorovich, Sirin - Kovalenko, Alkonost - Panina, Guslyar - Grokholsky)
1926 - Bolshoi Theater (conductor Suk, post. Rappoport, artists Korovin, Klodt, Vasnetsov; Yuri Vsevolodovich - V. Petrov, Vsevolod - Bogdanovich, Fevronia - Derzhinskaya, Grishka Kuterma - Ozerov, Poyarok - Savransky, Otrok - Antarova, Guslyar - Nortsov , Bedyay - Lubentsov, Sirin - Katulskaya, Alkonost - Petrov);
1934 - Bolshoi Theater (conductor Golovanov, director Nardov, artists Korovin and Fedorov, chorus Avranek; Yuri Vsevolodovich - Mikhailov, Vsevolod - Fedotov, Fevronia - Kruglikova, Grishka Kuterma - Ozerov, Poyarok - I. Burlak (Streltsov)).
1955 - in concert performance in Moscow (conductor Samosud) and Leningrad (conductor Grikurov).
1958 - Opera and Ballet Theatre. Kirov (conductor Yeltsin, director Sokovnin, art director Yunovich, chorus A. Mikhailov).
1949 - Opera and Ballet Theater Latv. SSR (conductor Glazup, staged by Vasilyeva, art director Lapin, chorus Vanag); 1962, ibid.
1983 - Bolshoi Theater of the USSR (conductor E. F. Svetlanov, stage director R. I. Tikhomirov, artists I. S. Glazunov and N. A. Vinogradova-Benois, Fevronia - G. Kalinina).
2001 - Mariinsky Theater (conductor - Valery Gergiev)
2008 - Bolshoi Theater (conductor - Alexander Vedernikov
Abroad:

Barcelona (1926, January 2, in Russian)
London (1926, concert performance in Russian, Covent Garden tr.)
Paris (1926, concert performance in Russian; 1929, in Russian)
Riga (1926)
Buenos Aires (1929. in Russian)
Milan (1933, tr. La Scala)
Brno (1934)
Duisburg (1935)
Zagreb (1935)
Philadelphia and New York (1936, in Russian)
Kaunas (1936)
Berlin (1937)
Prague (1938)
Brussels (1939, concert performance in Russian)
London (1951, concert performance - conductor Dobrovein)
Milan (1951, tr La Scala - conductor Dobrovein, dir. Dobrovein)
Rome (1960) et al.
2012 - Netherlands Opera, Amsterdam. director and set designer - Dmitry Chernyakov
2014 - Liceu, Barcelona. director and set designer Dmitry Chernyakov

Entries

Audio recordings

Year	Organization	Conductor	Soloists	Publisher and catalog number	Title text
1955	Choir and Orchestra of the All-Union Radio	Samuel	Prince Yuri- Alexander Vedernikov, Prince Vsevolod- Vladimir Ivanovsky, Fevroniya- Natalia Rozhdestvenskaya, Grishka Kuterma- Dmitry Tarkhov, Fedor Poyarok- Ilya Bogdanov, Otrok- Lydia Melnikova, Guslyar- Boris Dobrin, Medvedchik- Pavel Pontryagin, Bedyay- Leonid Ktitorov, Burundai- Sergey Krasovsky, Alkonost- Nina Kulagina		Not published?
1956	Chorus and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater	Vasily Nebolsin	Prince Yuri- Ivan Petrov, Prince Vsevolod- Vladimir Ivanovsky, Fevroniya- Natalia Rozhdestvenskaya, Grishka Kuterma- Dmitry Tarkhov, Fedor Poyarok- Ilya Bogdanov, Otrok- Lydia Melnikova, The best people- Veniamin Shevtsov and Sergey Koltypin, Guslyar- Boris Dobrin, Medvedchik- Tikhon Chernyakov, sang- Mikhail Skazin, Bedyay- Leonid Ktitorov, Burundai- Gennady Troitsky, Sirin- Maria Zvezdina, Alkonost- Nina Kulagina	D 06489-96 (1960)
1983	Choir and orchestra

88. THE LEGEND OF THE INVISIBLE CITY OF KITEZH

In the Volga forests there is a lake called Svetloyar.

The lake is not large, but its depth is up to thirty meters, and the water level is always the same, either in summer or in spring during high water. In winter, a special “lace” ice freezes on the lake. Svetloyarsk water is unusually clean, transparent and has healing properties. Locals say: "Drink water straight from the lake - do not be afraid, bring it home - it will stand for months, it will not go bad."

MM. Prishvin, having visited Svetloyar, wrote in the essay “Light Lake”: “... a calm, clear eye looked at me from the forest. Light Lake - a bowl of holy water in a green jagged frame.

Here, on the shore of Lake Svetloyar, a legend arose about the invisible city of Kitezh.

The legend says that in ancient times, Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich set up the city of Maly Kitezh or Gorodets on the banks of the Volga, and then, having crossed over the Uzola, Sanda and Kerzhenets rivers, he came to the Lyudna River, which originates from Lake Svetloyar.

The places there were beautiful, habitable, and the prince, "at the begging of the inhabitants", built the city of Kitezh the Great on the banks of the Svetloyar, but he himself did not stay in it, but returned to Small Kitezh.

At this time, "like dark clouds across the sky", hordes of the Tatar-Mongol under the leadership of Batu Khan moved to Russia. The enemies approached Small Kitezh and took the city by storm, killing almost all of its defenders.

Prince George Vsevolodovich with the remnants of the army managed to hide in the forests. By secret paths he went to Kitezh the Great in order to gather new forces there.

Batu was unable to find traces of the prince and began to "torment" the captive inhabitants of Small Kitezh, wanting to find out the path along which the prince had left. One of the prisoners "could not endure the torment" and led Batu through the forest to Veliky Kitezh.

The Tatars laid siege to the city, but suddenly, by the will of God, Kitezh became invisible.

Terrified by the accomplished miracle, the enemies fled.

About how the Lord saved Kitezh from enemies, the people tell in different ways.

Some say that the city still stands in its place, but no one sees it, others say that the city has hidden under the high hills surrounding Svetloyar. Writer V.G. Korolenko, who visited Svetloyar at the end of the 19th century, recorded the following story of a local old fisherman: “(...) our place, brother, is not an easy place ... No, no ... Not an easy one ... It seems to you: a lake, a swamp, mountains ... But the creature here is completely other. On these mountains here (he pointed to the hills), they say there will be churches. Etto in where the chapel - the cathedral they have is the Most Pure Savior. And nearby, on another hill, is the Annunciation. Here in the old days a birch stood, so on the sa-ama, it turns out, on the church dome.

According to the third version, the city, together with its inhabitants, sank to the bottom of Lake Svetloyar. People still live in it, and sometimes the ringing of Kitezh bells is heard from under the water.

The legend of the invisible city of Kitezh existed for a long time in oral form, passed down from generation to generation.

In the 17th century, schismatic sketes began to appear in the forests of the Trans-Volga region - secret settlements of adherents of the "old faith", not recognized by the official church. It was the schismatics who in the 18th century first wrote down the legend of Kitezh in the essay "The Book of the Chronicler."

In the presentation of the schismatics, the legend acquired a pronounced religious character. In their view, the underwater city is a monastery in which the righteous elders live, and only people who truly believe can see Kitezh and hear the Kitezh bells.

Over time, Lake Svetloyar became a place of pilgrimage for believers. V.G. Korolenko said: “Crowds of people converge on the banks of the Svetloyar, striving to shake off the deceptive vanity of vanity, to look beyond the mysterious boundaries, at least for a short time. Here, in the shade of trees, under the open sky, day and night, singing is heard, (...) reading in a singsong voice, disputes about the true faith boil. And at dusk and in the blue darkness of a summer evening, lights flicker between the trees, along the banks and on the water. Pious people on their knees crawl around the lake three times, then they put the remnants of candles on the chips into the water, and crouch to the ground, and listen. Tired, between two worlds, with fires in the sky and on the water, they surrender to the lulling swaying of the shores and the indistinct distant ringing ... And sometimes they freeze, not seeing or hearing anything from the environment. The eyes are as if blinded to our world, but clear to the unearthly world. The face cleared up, it had a “blissful” wandering smile and tears ... And those who aspired, but did not merit due to lack of faith, stand around and look in surprise ... And shake their heads in fear. It means that it exists, this other world, invisible, but real. They themselves did not see, but they saw those who see ... "

Belief in the real existence of an invisible city was preserved in the vicinity of Svetloyar even in later times. In 1982, folklorists recorded the story of a local resident: “People say that somewhere in the middle of the lake there is a hole - not very big - well, it looks like it will be like a ladle. It's just very hard to find it. In winter, the ice on Svetloyar is clean, clean. So you have to come, shovel the snow, and you can see what is happening there at the bottom. And there, they say, all sorts of miracles: white-stone houses stand, trees grow, bell towers, churches, chopped towers, living people walk ... But not everyone will find it, not everyone will be able to find this hole.

In the late 1930s, such a story was recorded from a certain old man Markelov. There lived in their village "a man, such a bold one." This brave man became interested in a hole, which he discovered under the roots of a fallen birch, and climbed into it. “Lez-lez, then he sees a bright place, and bright-faced elders sit in that place and sort out peasant affairs. And he recognized his grandfather, and his grandfather threatened him with a stick, did not order him to climb anymore.

Another local resident in 1982 told from the words of his father how he "had been to the city of Kitizh - they fed him there, they gave him money." The narrator's father "went to the cart", and then one day he was contracted with a wagon train to take sacks of grain. “And the convoy set off. Just went out to the road - it got dark. I don’t know how many hours we drove and where, they only see - the gates are boarded. Kind of like a monastery. They are moving in. It's dark there, some houses are standing. While the convoy was being unloaded, everyone was taken into the house, fed, given money - and generously. And before dawn the gates were opened, and the convoy, already empty, drove back ... Where were they at night? (...) While they were judging, rowing, they turned around - but there were no gates at all.

The stories about how the Kitezhans bought bread from the peasants are taken for granted by the locals. One narrator clarifies: “The Kitezh elders bought bread from the Vyatkas.” Another cites a case “with one Vyatichi”, who “brought rye from his Vyatka region to the market in the village of Voskresenskoye to sell. And so (...) a gray-haired old man approached him, looked at the grain, tried it on his tooth and said: “I will buy a whole load of rye from you (...). Only I will ask you, kind person, take some bread to us in Vladimirskoye. I will give you an extra fee for each bag of ladies for this. Vyatich agreed. Near Vladimirsky (the nearest village from Svetloyar) he saw a monastery. The monks met him, helped to pour the grain into the barn. Having received the payment, Vyatich went back. “I drove away from the lake for some time, stopped and wanted to pray to the monastery for good luck with the sale. I looked back - but there was no monastery. ” (Recorded in 1974.)

According to them, local residents are aware of cases when Kitezhans helped people in the most mundane affairs. “I remember that my grandmother told me, as a child, that he lived here in a village by the lake - in Vladimirskoye or in Shadrin, or something, the old man was alone. So, that old man once went to the forest for mushrooms. (...) I walked and walked, and all to no avail - there is not a single mushroom! The old man got tired, tired. And so he sat down on a stump, he wanted to rest. (...) It's a shame for him that he went around a lot, but there is no collection. Then he thought something: "If only the old men of Kitezh would help." Before he had time to think, drowsiness attacked him. (...) After some time, the old man woke up, opened his eyes, looked into the basket - and does not believe his eyes: there are mushrooms in it to the brim. Yes, even some - one to one, but all white! The legend of Kitezh is often compared with the legend of Atlantis. The historicity of the invisible city (as well as Atlantis) has repeatedly tried to prove or disprove.

Since the middle of the 19th century, the legend of Kitezh has become an object of research. It aroused the interest of a variety of specialists - folklorists, literary critics, historians, archaeologists. Scientific expeditions were equipped to Svetloyar more than once. In the 50-70s of the XX century, it was established that Lake Svetloyar was formed as a result of a "failure" - a sudden, strong shift of the soil, and this happened around the time to which the legend refers to the disappearance of Kitezh. At the bottom of the lake, a certain “anomaly” was discovered - a half-meter layer of semi-liquid rock, in which fragments of wood are present in abundance. The examination showed that these fragments “have traces of cutting tools”, that is, they were processed by human hands.

The poetic image of the city of Kitezh inspired many poets, artists, and composers. Maximilian Voloshin, Nikolay Klyuev, Sergey Gorodetsky wrote about Kitezh. ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the famous opera The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia, N.K. Roerich created a picturesque panel-curtain for this opera - "The Battle of Kerzhents".

The legend of the city of Kitezh - miraculously saved by God from devastation by enemies, sheltered and saved until better times, when it will again appear to the world, retaining its ancient root, ancient faith and truth - is one of the most cherished legends of the Russian people, for centuries subjected to invasions of external enemies.

From the book The Most Incredible Cases author

THE LEGEND ABOUT THE CITY OF KITEZH For many years scientists have been trying to unravel the mystery of the small Russian lake Svetloyar. According to legend, on its banks once stood the city - Big Kitezh. Fate decreed that it acquired a special symbolic meaning, becoming a mystical secret.

From the book Incredible Cases author Nepomniachtchi Nikolai Nikolaevich

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2. THE TALE OF ATRACHASIS In the myths of almost all peoples of the world there is a story about the Great Flood sent by angry gods to the earth to destroy the human race. This story reflects real memories of floods and river floods that occurred in

From the book of 100 famous mystical phenomena author Sklyarenko Valentina Markovna

5. THE TALE OF GILGAMESH The clay tablets on which the earliest records of folk tales about Gilgamesh were made date back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. e. There is reason to believe that Gilgamesh was a real historical figure. His name is preserved in

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51. TALE ABOUT SIGMUND Sigmund is one of the heroes of the Old Norse "Völsunga Saga". The word "saga" is derived from a verb that means "to tell". In Old Norse, any prose work was called a saga. Old Norse sagas were created in XIII-XTV

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52. THE LEGEND OF SIGURDE King of the Franks Sigmund, the great-grandson of the god Odin himself, was a glorious warrior. But his hour came, and he died in battle. Enemies seized his country, a foreign king Lungvi took his throne. The widow of Sigmund Hjordis found shelter with the king of Denmark, Hialprek. Hjerdis was

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55. THE TALE OF CUHUAINE Cuchulainn - the protagonist Irish epic. The Irish are a people of Celtic origin. In the middle of the first millennium BC. e. Celtic tribes inhabited a significant part of Europe, in the VI century BC. e. they took over the British Isles, subjugating the local tribe

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The legend of Siavush From the poetic epic "Shahnameh" (1st ed. - 994, 2nd ed. - 1010) They say that once in the morning, the valiant Tus and Giv, famous in battles, accompanied by hundreds of warriors with greyhounds and falcons, galloped to the plain Dagui amuse yourself with hunting. having shot

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The legend of Sohrab From the poetic epic "Shahnameh" (1st ed. - 944, 2nd ed. - 1010) Once Rostem, waking up at dawn, filled his quiver with arrows, saddled his mighty horse Rekhsh and rushed to Turan. On the way, he smashed the onager with a mace, roasted it on a skewer from the trunk

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The legend of the city of Kitezh Kitezh is a mythical wonderful city, which, according to Russian legends, escaped from the troops of Batu in the 13th century due to the fact that it sank to the bottom of Lake Svetloyar. The Old Believers described Kitezh as a refuge for the followers of the old faith. And mystics of the 19th century